Oscar-nominated composer Danny Elfman settled a previously unknown sexual harassment claim brought in 2018 by a former friend and fellow composer. Eflman and composer Nomi Abadi agreed to an $830,000 settlement paid in installments over five years.
Details of that settlement have been revealed in a Rolling Stone article, as well as new court documents filed by Abadi. In documents filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Abadi claims that Elfman has not paid the settlement in full, and is suing for $85,000 she says is still owed. According to the court documents, the $85,000 were part of charitable payments to be made by Elfman, rather than personal payments to Abadi.
The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to reps for Elfman and to Abadi’s attorney.
Abadi, who is under a non-disclosure agreement, did not speak to Rolling Stone, but the outlet cited a 2017 police report in which she claimed Elfman masturbated in front of her on multiple occasions after meeting him in 2015.
Elfman denied that he sexually harassed Abadi.
“Ms. Abadi’s allegations are simply not true. I allowed someone to get close to me without knowing that I was her ‘childhood crush’ and that her intention was to break up my marriage and replace my wife,” Elfman said. “When this person realized that I wanted distance from her, she made it clear that I would pay for having rejected her. I allowed an ill-advised friendship to have far-reaching consequences, and that error in judgment is entirely my fault. I have done nothing indecent or wrong, and my lawyers stand ready to prove with voluminous evidence that these accusations are false. This is the last I will say on this subject.”
Elfman’s lengthy career has included collaborations with Tim Burton on projects such as Batman and Edward Scissorhands and Sam Raimi on Spider-Man and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. He earned Oscar nominations for Men in Black, Good Will Hunting, Big Fish and Milk.
Abadi is the founder of the Female Composer Safety League, a non-profit for survivors of abuse and harassment in the composing field. According to Rolling Stone, she founded it in part from the settlement payments made by Elfman. She previously spoke about alleged abuses within the community. At a press conference in February ahead of the Grammys, she said, “There is a clear and urgent need to center the experiences of survivors of sexual assault in the music industry, who have lost their careers because they were abused and silenced.”
